100 every hour leaving British Gas

British Gas is losing customers at a rate of one every 34 seconds, it was claimed yesterday.

The news comes after three price rises in 12 months. Bills have gone up by 50 per cent in a year, prompting fears of a mass exodus by its 10.7million customers.

Yesterday consumer group Uswitch.com said British Gas's own figures showed that 350,000 customers had closed their accounts in the first 20 weeks of the year.

That equates to one person deserting every 34 seconds, 106 every hour, or 927,500 over the whole of 2006. Already more than two million people are thought to have abandoned British Gas since prices first took a sharp upturn three years ago. On Monday, British Gas imposes its second price rise of the year, announced in July.

Gas bills for 10.7million households will rise by 12.4 per cent, to an average of £707-a-year, up by around 50 per cent in a year and 91 per cent since 2003.

At the same time, electricity bills for 5.8million homes supplied by British Gas will go up by 9.4 per cent, bringing the average annual bill to £428, up 81 per cent since 2003.

Other suppliers have followed suit, blaming a 70 per cent increase in wholesale gas prices. Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at Uswitch.com, said: "We have seen a phenomenal upsurge in people switching away from British Gas.

"The facts are there for all to see - some suppliers are much more expensive than others and we have to ask ourselves why, when they're all selling exactly the same product."

British Gas, which made a loss of £ 143million in the first six months, says it has been forced to put up prices in order to invest in supplies and storage facilities and bring bills back down again in the near future.

Last night it dismissed Uswitch.com's claims. "We have the cheapest electricity on the market - Click Energy, an online product," a spokesman said. "We are winning thousands of customers each day."